Far From Ordinary
| Most mornings, after coffee and reading scripture on my own, I listen to Pray as You Go while walking, running, or exploring a park. “Today is Tuesday the 1 September, in the 22nd week of Ordinary Time.” But it’s not. For most of us. Anything approaching ordinary time. Far from it. I listen to the birds. They have much to say about the situation. The squirrels rain down half-eaten hickory nuts. On Pope Francis’ World Day of Prayer for Creation, I read that after more than a 100 years, wolverines have been spotted on camera at Mount Rainier National Park. I can be easily discouraged. My moods are more mercurial than I would like. I read the news. Wildfires rage in California, Greenland’s glaciers melt, and Hurricane Laura hits hard. Most of us are simultaneously more isolated than we have ever been in our lives, but also more affected by the world in our everyday existence. It is an odd combination. The apostle Paul said he didn’t try to convince the Corinthians with fancy rhetoric. He didn’t want their belief to depend on his charismatic leadership or tricky words. …so that your faith might not depend on the wisdom of people but on the power of God. 1 Cor 2:5 (CEB) I am grateful that neither my faith nor yours depends on my words or wisdom, or on any would-be leader. Yesterday evening, the cacophony of the cicadas caused us to pause our prayers at our outdoor leadership team meeting. There, I was encouraged. We also have out-of-the-ordinary opportunities. To make changes. Reconsider our allocation of resources. What does reparations mean for us? What can we do to make a difference? We haven’t received the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit so that we can know the things given to us by God. 1 Cor 2:12 (CEB) Now is certainly a time for prayer. For Creation. For our world. For more of God’s Spirit, so that we might know the things given to us by God. That we might have the mind of Christ. Together, we pray…. -Renée |